


Fablehaven Fic Swap Collection 2018

by 11JJ11, AerinM, feministkendra, hugoandmendigo, Jeanvalvernairdienjoleponius, PointlesslyPoetic



Category: Fablehaven Series - Brandon Mull
Genre: All the entries from the fablehaven fic swap!, Multi, a bunch of fluff and random one shots
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-21
Updated: 2018-12-22
Packaged: 2019-09-24 09:45:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 20,974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17098250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/11JJ11/pseuds/11JJ11, https://archiveofourown.org/users/AerinM/pseuds/AerinM, https://archiveofourown.org/users/feministkendra/pseuds/feministkendra, https://archiveofourown.org/users/hugoandmendigo/pseuds/hugoandmendigo, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jeanvalvernairdienjoleponius/pseuds/Jeanvalvernairdienjoleponius, https://archiveofourown.org/users/PointlesslyPoetic/pseuds/PointlesslyPoetic
Summary: A collection of one-shots from the Fablehaven Fic Swap! Please pay attention to who wrote each chapter! All work posted here with permission!





	1. Christmas Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is meant to take place the Christmas following Fablehaven book 5, KttDP. Imagine that Dragonwatch doesn’t exist for this particular story.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written by AerinM for Phoenix, for the 2018 Fablehaven Fic Swap!

Christmas at Fablehaven was always memorable, to say the least. This particular year, Hank and Gloria had decided to host a party at the old mansion, which they had decked out in red, gold and green. Cheerful music played in the background, and many of the Larsen's and Sorenson's friends (fellow Knights of the Dawn) had turned up for the event. It was still a couple of weeks before the actual holiday, however they'd intentionally planned it that way so that everyone could choose to be with their families or other friends on Christmas itself. Even though the dress code was semi-formal, the atmosphere of the party was light and relaxed. Gloria was pretty proud of the fact that they'd been able to pull this off - it had taken a lot of effort, and it had all worked out quite nicely. She glanced around the room to observe how their guests were occupying themselves, taking particular note of her family and those who were especially close friends of Fablehaven.

Tanu sat at one table with Trask, Hank, and Stan, the four of them playing some card game which Gloria was positive would end with someone losing money. Elise had engaged Ruth in conversation after she had grown bored of watching the men play their game. Kendra, Seth, and Bracken hovered near the hot chocolate bar which had been set up early on in the night; they were talking and laughing with each other over their individual cups of cocoa. Scott had pulled Marla away from straightening up some of the empty place settings on a nearby table and swept her up into a dance in the middle of the room despite her half-hearted protests; she was obviously pleased by her husband's actions, judging by the tremendous smile which rested on her face. Mara and Vanessa were talking to each other in low tones, which kind of surprised Gloria. She hadn't really thought they were friends, although she also didn't know either of those women tremendously well. Warren wandered the room, wanting to talk to everyone, while Dale sat at a table by himself looking cheerful but also somewhat tired.

Ah, Dale. What were they going to do with that boy?

——

"Hey. Dale." Warren approached his brother from behind, tapping him on the shoulder.

"No," Dale replied, turning around anyway to see what Warren wanted.

"No?"

"Right. No."

"You don't even know what I'm going to say."

"You're right, but I know that tone of voice and it's telling me that you're up to something I don't want to be involved in."

"Oh, come on. It's not like I'm going to wrestle you to the ground or anything."

"We both know I would win that match."

"We don't know that for sure, but that's not the point." Warren cleared his throat, then stepped aside and said, "Haaaaaaave you met Elise?"

He gestured toward the woman who had been standing behind and to the left of Warren, chatting animatedly with Ruth. She looked at Warren when she heard her name, and seemed surprised that he was gesturing toward her with his arms splayed out Vanna White-style. Dale rolled his eyes at Warren's actions.

"Sorry, Ruth," Elise apologized. "I'd better go figure out what this nitwit is up to." She then sauntered over to Warren and asked, "What on earth are you doing?"

"Elise, this is my brother, Dale," Warren introduced the two of them. "He's handsome, right? Got the whole buff farm boy thing going on, right? He's also a really hard worker who enjoys quiet activities in the evenings."

"Stop," Dale said at the same time that Elise flatly asked, "Again, what are you doing?"

"Dale is really dependable. Like… ridiculously dependable. I don't think he's ever flaked on anyone in his life, ever. A real man of his word."

"Warren," Dale said in a warning tone.

"And you would think he'd be too busy for it, but this guy loves to read! You should see his collection of books. He's an intellectual!"

Elise put a hand up to silence her friend. "That's enough, Warren. I'll take it from here." She stuck her hand toward Dale, and he reciprocated her proffered handshake. "Nice to meet you, Dale. I'm Elise."

"Hello, Elise. I must apologize for my idiot brother. He's been on a kick lately to try and set me up with someone."

"Hey, what is family for?" Warren asked, clapping Dale on the back. "Besides, I need to find you a girlfriend so that you'll stop flirting with mine."

At that comment, Dale winked at Vanessa who was conversing nearby with Mara, both women also clearly observing what was going on with the Burgess brothers. Vanessa winked back at him and blew him a kiss in return.

"See? That. That is inappropriate conduct. She's taken," Warren stated a little defensively. "Talk to Elise. Bye!" And with a wave, Warren stalked over toward Vanessa and enveloped her in a side hug, pushing her and Mara away from Dale and Elise.

Dale rolled his eyes again. "Well, can I buy you a drink?" he asked his new companion.

Elise chuckled. "Sure," she said, mirth in her eyes. "How long do you think it'll take for him to remember that we already know each other?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," Dale answered, laughing lightly himself. He offered his arm to Elise, who accepted and let him lead her to another one of the tables in the room where there were several bottles and decanters of various beverages.  
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________  
"Why did you do that to him?" Vanessa asked Warren as he pulled her away from Dale and Elise. Mara kept up with them, partially because Vanessa had grabbed hold of her wrist and wouldn't let go.

"He needs a girlfriend," Warren answered.

"He told you to stop interfering," Vanessa insisted. "Now let me go. I was having a nice conversation with Mara before you interrupted us." She made to pull out of Warren's grasp, but he kept his hands on her waist and continued directing her further away from his brother.

"Sorry," Warren said. "We need to give them their privacy."

Vanessa raised an eyebrow at him and planted her feet firmly to the ground in order to keep him from dragging her around. "We're at a family Christmas party. There are children here. What, exactly, do you think is going to happen?"

"Can you please let go of my wrist?" Mara suddenly asked. Vanessa quickly apologized and released her grip on the other woman's arm.

"I don't know, maybe they'll get friendlier with each other if we leave them alone," Warren said, shrugging, his attention focused on what Dale and Elise were up to.

Mara looked at him like he was a strange puzzle she couldn't quite piece together, while Vanessa rolled her eyes. "Again, this is a family Christmas party. The most quote-unquote 'friendly' activity here is probably the fact that there's mistletoe hanging around the place." Vanessa gestured to the room at large.

Warren followed her hand as she waved it around, then said, "Oh, look, Bracken's standing underneath some mistletoe. I wonder if he even realizes it."

"You saw him first," Mara said, shrugging her shoulders, her facial expression betraying absolutely none of her thoughts. Vanessa's earlier annoyance disappeared as she started laughing while Warren's eyes grew to the size of golf balls.

"No no no no no no no," Warren said, letting go of Vanessa and shaking his hands in front of him. "Nuh-uh."

"Tradition is tradition, Warren," Vanessa laughed. "You can't leave him all alone under the mistletoe. It's bad luck."

"I can and I absolutely will," he insisted. "Just… no. Nope. No."

"Oh, there's Kendra. Looks like she's spotted him," Mara said, folding her arms while she observed from a distance.

"Do you think she's seen the mistletoe yet?" Vanessa asked.

"Doesn't look like it," Mara replied.

"Hmm. I wonder if they've kissed much in the past. Well, no time like the present. Apparently, family Christmas parties are where people go to get friendly with each other," Vanessa teased, laughing at the end while she poked her boyfriend in the chest.

"Okay, okay, haha, very funny," Warren said. He couldn't stop watching as Kendra walked up to Bracken and they started talking like there was nothing unusual about their surroundings.

"They're oblivious to the fact that there is mistletoe hanging right over them," Mara mused.

"Looks like it. I wonder how long it'll take for them to catch on?" Vanessa pondered out loud.

Warren shook his head as he observed Kendra and Bracken for another minute or so, then ran off toward the couple in question while Vanessa laughed again as she watched him run away.

"I thought he said he wasn't going to initiate the kissing?" Mara asked.

"Kendra's practically his little sister in his eyes. He probably doesn't want to think about her kissing anyone. Just watch."  
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Kendra had excused herself to use the restroom and, when she came back, she found that her brother and Bracken had both seemingly disappeared. She glanced around the room to look for either one of them (perhaps more so the handsome unicorn boy rather than her brother) and eventually spotted Bracken leaning against one of the walls in the room. He appeared to be contentedly people watching. She turned her gaze to the room at large again to try and find out where Seth had gone but didn't spot him. Eventually, she gave up and decided to go spend some more time with Bracken.

"Hey there," she said as she approached him. She was rewarded with a warm smile. "What's got you so entertained?"

"Your family and friends," Bracken answered, shrugging his shoulders. "An event like this allows people to relax, which also allows some interesting interactions to happen. For example." He laid one hand on Kendra's shoulder and pointed with his other hand toward the left side of the room, leaning toward her while he spoke. "Trask is decimating the rest of everyone else at poker."

"Well he does know how to keep a straight face," Kendra said.

"That is very true. The other men at the table are still enjoying themselves, however, your grandmothers are starting to get annoyed." Bracken chuckled, then pointed toward where her grandmothers were standing together and frowning at the quartet of men who were having a raucously good time. "How long before you think they'll break up the card game?"

"Oh, I'd give them maybe another couple of minutes or so."

"We'll see if you're right, although I agree with you," Bracken said. He then shifted his stance slightly and gestured toward the back of the room. "Dale and Elise are enjoying themselves."

Kendra smiled. "Hmmm. Do you think something might be happening there?" she asked.

"Nothing more than friendship in my opinion," Bracken began, "although Warren is clearly hoping that he made a good match."

Kendra's eyes drifted toward her cousin, who she was surprised to find staring right at her. "Um..." she began. "Why is Warren staring at us?"

Bracken furrowed his eyebrows. "Maybe he's people watching, too?"

"No, he's clearly staring directly at us specifically." Kendra looked down at her outfit, wondering if she'd spilled something on herself earlier. She startled a little when Bracken removed his hand from her shoulder and softly laughed, then followed his line of sight and spotted the issue.

Ah. Mistletoe.

A blush formed on Kendra's face as she made eye contact with Bracken, just in time for Warren to run up to them at top speed and plant a kiss on each of their cheeks before he madly dashed away again.

Kendra placed a hand over her cheek where she'd just been kissed and saw Bracken do the same, both of them staring after Warren while she asked, "What just happened?"

Bracken leaned in and planted a kiss on her other cheek, then pulled away with a laugh. "Who knows? He's a bit of an odd egg sometimes."  


Kendra stood on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek as well, a brilliant flush covering her face. She was a little happy to see that Bracken was blushing, too. He pulled her in for a hug, then held her hand and asked, "Would you care to dance?" When Kendra nodded her assent, Bracken tucked her hand into the crook of his arm and led her to the middle of the room, where Scott and Marla and a few other couples were also dancing.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"That's enough of that!" Ruth shouted, stalking over to the card players and snatching all of the cards she could reach. Gloria was hot on her heels and quickly began doing the same thing.

"It's a party!" Stan protested. "Let us have our fun!"

"Heaven knows I worked hard enough decorating this place," Hank added. "God forbid I take a moment to sit down and enjoy myself."

Trask laughed heartily. "Another time," he said, gathering the bills of money in front of him into a neater stack.

"No. This is a Christmas party," Gloria emphasized. "You're supposed to be eating or dancing or visiting with family and friends. Not squandering your retirement funds."

"Not much point in having the money if you live on a self-sustaining farm," Hank said. "Unless you're planning to move and just haven't told me?"

Ruth whacked him upside the head for that remark. "You aren't going anywhere," she said when Hank let out a confused exclamation. He'd expected the blow to come from his wife, not Stan's.

"She's got a mean right hook," Stan said, chuckling at his friend's discomfort. "I'd be careful about what I say around her if I were you."

"Stan, I have never punched you in a situation when we weren't sparring. Don't spread false rumors about me."

"Whoa, wait! You guys used to spar!?"

The adults at the table all looked around for Seth, who they knew was the one who said that last part. They'd recognize his voice anywhere. The boy in question popped out from underneath the table.

"Did you use weapons, or was it hand-to-hand practice? Why were you sparring in the first place? Did you go on awesome adventures?" he asked, more questions clearly on the tip of his tongue.

"How long have you been hiding under there?" Tanu asked.

"A while," Seth said, grinning mischievously.

Stan and Hank exchanged glances at each other. There may or may not have been a few inappropriate jokes tossed around while they were "squandering their retirement funds" as Gloria had so eloquently stated.

"Long enough to hear some things which I will probably never forget," Seth continued his train of thought. "Some of those jokes were great. I'll have to use those in the future!"

Tanu and Trask busted out into peals of full-blown laughter while Stan smacked himself in the face and Hank bit his lip to keep from joining in the laughter himself.

Ruth glared disapprovingly at the men in front of her, then rolled her eyes. "Come along, Seth," she said, motioning for the boy to come out from beneath the table and follow her. "I'll tell you all about your grandfather's irresponsible shenanigans from his youth. Maybe even some from his late adulthood."

"Ruth!" Stan called after her as she walked away with all of the playing cards in her grip. She didn't stop moving, so he stood up and speed-walked toward her. "Don't tell him everything!"

Hank turned toward Gloria. "Any chance we'll be getting those cards back?" he asked.

"None," she answered. "I think you've made Trask wealthy enough for one day."

"Oh well. It was worth a shot," he said, standing up from his chair. He stiffly bowed toward Tanu and Trask and added, "It was a pleasure to play with you, gentlemen. Perhaps we should reconvene in the future."

"You're on," Tanu said while Trask smiled and added, "Any time you feel like your wallet is getting too heavy, feel free to contact me."

Hank lifted a hand to his mouth and whispered conspiratorially to them, "Maybe sometime when the missus is away."

Gloria whacked him on the shoulder and Hank whined, "Why am I getting picked on?"

"You have guests to greet," Gloria said, pulling him away from the table.

Tanu and Trask looked at each other, then smiled and started laughing again. "Christmas parties, man. Am I right?" Tanu asked.

"Family, friends, sugar, good food, booze... yep. You're right. Endless entertainment," Trask agreed. Trask raised his whiskey to Tanu's eggnog and the men clinked their glasses together in a toast.  
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________  
The evening wound down with everyone gathered around the piano which Scott had pushed out into the main hall. He and Kendra took turns sitting on the piano bench playing Christmas carols and hymns while everyone else sang along, continued to chat with each other, or otherwise partnered off and swayed to the music on the dance floor.

"So... How was your evening?" Warren approached Dale, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Very nice," Dale answered, smiling.

"I see a grin. Did something happen...?"

"Nope."

"Nope?"

"Nope."

"But you're smiling. Do you at least have a date?"

"No."

Warren pouted. "What do you mean, 'no'?"

Dale sighed and clapped his brother on the back. "Elise was wonderful company. I think we're going to be good friends," he said. "I'd call that a success. It was a good night. I didn't have to walk away with a date in order to enjoy the evening."

"But why is there no date? You guys were together all night! Did you just not ask her?"

"Nope," Dale stated.

"Again with the 'nope.' Why not?" Warren asked.

Dale grinned. "Here, I'll show you," he said, walking toward Elise, who was mingling with Bracken and Seth. Warren watched as he caught her attention, and continued to watch as Dale brought Elise over to where Vanessa and Mara were sitting together (which wasn't far from where Warren was standing). He heard every word as Dale approached the women and said, "Hey, Mara."

She quirked an eyebrow up at him and, obviously not expecting Dale to approach her, asked, "Hello?"

Dale cleared his throat and then, mimicking Warren's words and actions from earlier, motioned toward his companion Vanna White-style and said, "Haaaaaave you met Elise?"

Elise blushed and Mara looked at Dale in slight confusion until a small smile crossed her face. With that, Dale bowed toward the trio of women and returned to Warren's side.

A heavy silence hung between the two brothers until Dale turned toward Warren and stated, "That's why."

"Yeah, okay, I get it," Warren said, trying to talk over his brother.

"Don't be upset. I had a great time tonight. Thank you for making me do something aside from staring at the wall."

"You wouldn't have stayed there for too much longer. Not with the way Gloria was staring at you," Warren began. "She looked like she was going to put you to work."

"Warren, if there's one thing you should know about me by now, it's that I'm not afraid of work."

"Yeah, but you need to loosen up." Warren made eye contact with his brother. "You know that I just want you to be happy, right?"

"Yeah," Dale said. "I appreciate the sentiment. But I'm not worried about my apparent lack of a significant other. I'm already happy, Warren. I promise. I'll be okay, whether or not there's someone romantically special in my life." He pulled his brother into a hug. "Merry Christmas, Warren," he said. "Now please... butt out of my love life."

Warren laughed. "Merry Christmas."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written by AerinM! Please give them lots of love!


	2. A Second Chance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written by jeanalvernairdienjoleponius on ao3/ thatoneartyishperson on tumblr and written for hugoandmendigo! We need more of these two in the world.

Patton's eyes opened to find him in an abandoned house, in very dim light, heart pounding as he realized the situation he was in.

Though it was surely pitch black inside, due either to the time of night or the spirit inhabiting the residence, it wasn't a problem for him, as everything seemed faintly lit, as though there were something very far away casting a very meager light everywhere.

He ran a fast hand through his hair, thinking about what had happened to him in the past few days.

He took a deep breath as his mind, for the millionth time, reconstructed a picture of his wife's face smiling kindly at him as she dove for the nail.

She'd died for him, for Kendra and Seth, for the entire preserve.

She was a hero.

And she could never, ever know.

Patton wiped the tears from his eyes as he realized he'd been in the house for far longer than he'd planned. He'd started waxing philosophical when he should have been trying to find some way to sneak past all the horrors that surely awaited him on this festival night. A high-pitched shriek pierced the night as his eyes swept over the house in front of him. He was certain that Ephira couldn't resist the possibility of roaming on a festival night, but the moment she was alerted to his presence within the manor she'd probably turned to find him.

That was something he could not risk.

He wasn't sure if he should try the door, rubbing a hand on his face as he thought. He glanced out the window, finding that the tree he and Seth had jumped out onto wasn't nearly tall enough to catch him safely at the moment.

The door it was.

As quietly as he could manage, he ran down the stairs and to the front door, which he opened and closed without so much as a hint of resistance.

It seemed too easy, but it was also a festival night, so he wasn't sure what sort of resistance he might find.

He clutched at a bag of salt he'd hidden in his pocket, hoping he wouldn't need to use it.

Patton knew the preserve better than anyone, living or dead, magical or otherwise. He'd traversed every corner of the map, creating the map where there was none to be found. He'd traversed every dangerous area, everywhere that hadn't been searched, everywhere that seemed too treacherous to visit. Every creature he'd encountered that had tried to kill him had been unsuccessful. Every human that tried to take his life had met with the same outcome.

And yet.

And yet, here he was, feeling more terrified than he'd ever been at the sight of nothing in his resistance.

He'd rather there be something to fight in front of him than to be left alone to his own thoughts, which he knew would drown him if he didn't do something about them.

The last time he'd seen Lena, the last time in this year at least, they'd had a fight. A long, drawn out, entirely unavoidable and utterly meaningless fight about the curtains in the house. He'd left the house angry, leaving her alone on a festival night to wonder if he would make it back to the house alive. Was she worried about him? Did she ever worry about him?

He shook the thoughts from his head. Of course, she worried about him. He only hoped she didn't worry too much—he never wanted to cause her stress—though clearly, his adventures would cause alarm in even the most cautious of people.

He wondered if she knew how much he loved her.

He couldn't wait to make it home so that he could prove to her just how much he cared.

The moment he'd begun to get excited about the prospect of being home, rather than fearing for a monster, he'd encountered one.

A monster, that is, not a home.

Near his feet, so low and so dark that he'd nearly stepped on them, was a swarm of imps. They hissed when they saw him, though the noise was barely distinguishable from the general cacophony of the festival night around him. One particularly brave imp jumped to bite him, and Patton had mere milliseconds to choose a direction to jump in. He violently swerved to his left, trying to avoid stepping on one of them at any cost, but they moved around so that any direction he stepped, he'd have to step on one of them.

Gritting his teeth, Patton stood with one leg raised and one foot gently on the ground, supporting him by the ball of his foot and his heel. Glancing around him, he spotted a branch that seemed low enough to the ground. Mustering all his energy into him, he lowered his body closer to the ground, before pushing up with all his might and leaping to the branch, which he grabbed onto and swung off of to push himself further away from the imps.

Thankfully, they hadn't had the foresight to predict the move, and were left dumbfounded, standing in a circle about seven feet away.

Unfortunately, however, they were very, very fast.

Patton broke into a run, carefully staying on one of the safer paths. It took him close to the pond his wife had left, and closer still to Muriel's hut. Both had to be avoided at all costs. The faster he ran, the more exhausted he was, but the closer he was to being home.

He couldn't wait to see Lena again.

The run was exhilarating because he knew he'd be able to hold her close to him.

The rest of the run home, though exhausting, caused him little trouble. He rested for quite a bit in the trees outside the yard, not daring to alert anything in the yard to his presence there. He knew he would have few precious seconds before he could make his way into the house, and he would have to use them wisely, lest his story be cut short hundreds of pages before his time.

He scanned the yard, though his mind kept drifting to thoughts of his wife. How was she? Was she worried about him? What did she think of the noises? Did she regret her decision to leave the pond? What was she doing while he was out?

Patton took a deep breath in, jaw set in determination as he stared at the yard. There was nothing in his way other than his own thoughts. He grabbed some salt in his hand just in case and made a sprinting dash for the front door of his home.

It swung open easily, and though Patton was certain there was at least one thing following him, nothing made its way into the house. He thanked whoever had been watching over him to make that possible before he made his way up to the door of the attic.

"Lena, my love? It's me. I know you have no way of proving that it's me, and I'll stay outside this door all night if I have to, but it is me."

He heard breathing from the other side of the door, and eventually, a shuffling over to meet him, though the door did not open.

"Patton? Are you back so soon? I thought you would be gone far longer."

Patton smiled at the sound of her voice. "I thought I would take longer as well, but I ran most of the way here."

"Scared of the festival night?" He could hear the concern in her voice, and his breath caught.

"No, my sweet. Desperate to hear from you again."

"You can talk to me at any time, Patton. You don't have to run."

Patton smiled. "See, I understand that I can talk to you at any time, but I simply cannot believe it. I never thought I would end up marrying the sweetest, most beautiful, most understanding, most caring, kindest woman on the planet earth, and yet here I am. I feel as though I should spend all the time I have appreciating you."

There was a pause. "Is this your Patton-ese way of apologizing to me?"

Patton chuckled, tears welling in his eyes. "My dearest darling, I never should have fought with you. I should have realized that nothing, absolutely nothing, is more important than our relationship. If I had to choose between the safety of the world, and you, I would choose you at any time."

The door opened in front of him and Patton was finally able to behold the sight of his wife.

Every time he saw her, it was like the first time again. The breath was knocked out of him, his eyes could hardly process what he was looking at, and he was overcome with excitement. She was smiling, her eyes crinkling around the sides. Mirth danced in the dark depths of her eyes, beckoning him in.

"That's not a very feasible practice, my dear. Surely the world would prefer to be saved."

Patton smiled at her. "The world is going to have to wait, my love. This comes first."

She offered him her hand, and he kissed the top of her fingers sweetly. She giggled, and he kissed her up her arm, resting on her shoulder as he turned his head to look up at her. She laughed and turned her head away, a blush dusting her cheeks. She hid her face with her hand, which Patton grabbed as he pulled his face away from her. She looked down at the wedding ring on his left hand, smiling as she aligned it with her own.

"Patton, I don't know what I ever did to deserve you." She admitted, voice hardly above a whisper.

"Funny," he whispered back, "I think the same thing every day."

At that statement, she grinned brightly, pulling him into a close hug. She rested her head against his chest, rubbing her fingers along his back comfortingly.

"Lena, I'm so sorry we argued. Let's never do it again, that was awful."

"I agree." She murmured, a hint of humor in her voice. "Though, I'm not quite sure that's how it works."

"It works for me."

Lena chuckled as she moved away from him, pulling an over exaggerated face. "You're sweaty."

Patton, feeling the adrenaline starting to ebb from him, chuckled as he leaned against a wall for support. "I wasn't kidding when I said I ran most of the way here."

Lena kissed him softly on the cheek nonetheless. "I suppose it's time for bed for you, then."

Patton smiled dreamily at her. "I can think of nothing better."

Knowing his wife loved him just as he loved her gave Patton the sweetest dreams he'd ever had.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written by jeanalvernairdienjoleponius! Please give them lots of love!


	3. Lost In The Woods

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written by hugoandmendigo!

Seth was breathing hard. He was a good runner, but he rarely had to keep this kind of speed over such a huge distance. He could feel himself slowing down. He could taste iron in the back of his throat.

"They're too fast, there's too many of them! I won't make it!" he called out.

He was carrying too much gear. He dropped what he could, but too much was tied to his body. It wasn't helping enough. Soon the only remaining thing he could lose without slowing down was his long spear. For a second, he considered letting it go. But there was no escaping this foe. He was not going down without a weapon in his hand.

Desperately, he turned from the path. Branches snapped underfoot, and he had to duck around the brush. It was the wrong move. The foliage slowed him down but did nothing to deter his pursuers. He felt an arm just brush his back. This was it.

In a flurry of white and silver, he was tackled. A moment later, he was pinned on his back, glaring up at Bracken, who was grinning down at him with unmistakable malice. They stayed like that for a second or two, chests heaving, trying to regain their breath.

"As long as the others are safe…" Seth muttered to himself.

Bracken raised a knife. It was crude, dull. It was going to hurt. He prepared himself for the final blow. This was it, this was really the–

"CUT!" Warren called.

Bracken collapsed next to Seth. Warren let out a big cheer. They all had a good laugh.

"This is IT FOLKS!" shouted Warren, "SEND THIS TO PRINT!"

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Seth looked anxiously over Warren's shoulder as he finished burning the disc.

"Relax, man," Warren said, "I know how to burn a DVD."

"Dude, you wrecked three normal ones last week. This one's important." Seth replied.

"I'm perfectly aware of my past failures," Warren said.

Warren had been burning DVDs of Lost for Newel and Doren for over a month. The satyrs had acquired an impressive TV setup following the battle of Zzyzx, but one major component was missing: streaming platforms. They had the best cable package money could buy, but for the most part, they could only watch what the stations decided to program. Eventually, Doren had come across a rerun of Lost and had flatly refused to talk about anything else until someone found him a way to watch more. Seth had been too young to enjoy anything other than cartoons when the show first aired, so he hadn't seen it. He didn't understand the hype, really. But it was entertaining to hear the satyr's harebrained theories about what was going on.

Newel and Doren had been one season away from the big finish when Warren had approached him.

"So, you know how Lost ends, right?"

"I googled it. Couldn't figure it out though."

"Right. Nobody could. It kind of sucked."

"Newel and Doren are gonna be raging about it for weeks."

"Want to make them rage even harder?"

The plan had quickly fallen into place. It only took them about a week to write a script, and plan out when they could shoot it, and recruit Bracken as a spare actor. Make an ending–a new, homespun, two idiots with a camera ending–and edit into the final episode. Burn it onto the DVD like regular. It sounded like a lot of work for a pretty dumb prank, but Newel and Doren had been talking of nothing but Lost since the moment they saw their first episode. They'd placed enormous bets on the last episode. Doren had implied that watching that series finale was going to be the absolute highlight in his centuries of existence.

Ruining it was going to be on a whole other level.

The disc finished burning and Warren pulled it out from his DVD drive. He carefully placed it inside a trifold CD case, alongside discs holding the rest of the episodes from the season. Other than the handwritten numbers dictating the order the discs should be played, they were identical. Warren and Seth couldn't stop giggling as they walked to Newel and Doren's hideout to deliver the discs.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

It was about eight the next morning when Warren and Seth left the yard. Both grumbled about the hour, but Tanu had asked them to retrieve a plant that wouldn't bloom after a certain hour of the day. Not long after they set out, they heard a scream. Two screams. Grinning, the boys looked at each other.

"Run," was all Warren said.

Seth started running. It was only a minute or two before he was running out of breath, tasting iron, slowing down. Only, this time it was real, and Satyrs are much faster than Bracken ever was.

"HOW COULD YOU?!" Doren shouted, diving into the ground and taking Seth down with him. He laid into Seth, running through an impressive list of profanities and slapping his face. Once he was free of Newel, Warren actually had to rescue Seth.

Eventually, they surrendered the unaltered version of the finale episode. Even so, it was weeks before they were able to leave the house without getting beaten up by disgruntled satyrs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written by hugoandmendigo! Please give them lots of love!


	4. Up To Something

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written by totallynotanartblog on tumblr!

Seth had done something, Kendra was sure of it. Her Seth-messed-up-dar had been going off since after dinner, when he rather suspiciously slipped out of the house and towards the direction on the Satyr's cabin, coming back a while later with an equally suspicious backpack. She poked around a little bit once he went to watch Polar Express with Mom, Dad, and Grandma and Grandpa Larsen, having hated that movie since the car of broken toys gave her nightmares when she was 8.

Despite the fact that she looked around her and her brother's room for the entire time they were out, as well as the rest of the house a bit more briefly, barring the bedrooms, she came up with not a single thing out of place besides for an alarm clock sitting on his bedside table, probably set to wake him up in the event he didn't before it went off. Sighing in annoyance she told herself he might have just been hiding presents in the satyr's cabin and now they were under the ever overflowing tree and so she didn't see them, pulling on a nightgown as she did so. With a lingering suspicion that her brother might not be as innocent as she told herself, she resigned to forcing him up the stairs and into bed before sliding under the covers of her own.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Seth had done something.

It was now 4:56 AM and Seth lied in his bed watching the clock he put up on the bedside table next to him, as several identical ones were hidden away in everyone's bedrooms, all ticking down to the same time, hopefully, to go off at once.

4 minutes.

He had been awake watching the clock in a similar position for the last half an hour, not daring to move in case it woke up Kendra. She had been on to him last night, their room had been looked through and put back nearly the way it was, only just off enough for him to notice.

3 minutes.

But now he could barely contain his excitement.

Every year he sat downstairs waiting forever for everyone else to wake up. This year though, this year was gonna be different. If they weren't gonna wake up on their own, then Seth guessed he'd just had to do it for them.

2 minutes.

At this point he didn't really care if Kendra woke up, and sat up in his bed, stretching his arms out with a small yawn. He bounced the bed up and down a few times, the creaking of old springs filling the air. Stupid ADHD, making everything take forever. Why couldn't time just run like normal, instead of the pace of a snail?

1 minute.

Glancing at the time he gingerly stood up and started towards the door, careful to avoid the creakiest of the wood planks that made up the floor. Once he got out the door and down the stairs he ran for the living room, knowing the alarms would go off any second now.

Silence.

And then, noise. The horrible loud screeching of clocks filled every room of the house as six different alarm clocks all rang out simultaneously. Seth couldn't help but smirk. He got them set up better than he thought. Nearly no pause in between alarms starting. Perfect.

The first person to come downstairs was Dale, eyes lowered in both exhaustion and annoyance.

"Why? Just…...Why?" Was all he was able to make out before his brother came bursting down the stair, Vanessa soon following. Warren was holding his clock up, looking like he didn't know to be proud or disappointed in the younger boy. Vanessa wasn't so divided. She slammed down the remains of her clock, a knife stabbed into its face.

"This yours?" She asked threateningly.

"Nope!" Seth declared cheekily just as his sister stormed down from the attic.

"If it wasn't Christmas I would slap you" she declared with classic Kendra-rage written all over her face and tone. Finally, the sibling's grandparents and parents both came down at the same time, all sharing a similar look of why. Seth couldn't help but cheekily grin as he stood up to address this family.

"Merry Christmas!"

"Your grounded"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written by totallynotanartblog on tumblr! Please give them lots of love!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written by not-worth-a-bean on tumblr!

Kendra was running. The cave she was in was getting more and more narrow the farther she went, and sharp, scraggly rocks kept scraping at her clothes and her face, and her hair was falling out of its ponytail, and Dougan was dead outside and Mara was hanging off a ledge and Warren was injured at the bottom of the knapsack and all of the people she cared about were in danger. To top it off, there was a boy she didn't want to face following her. She heard his voice stutter after her, echoing off the walls. "K-Kendra, wait up!"

She moaned, swallowing back bile. Her eyes burned. Dead end. The cave ended with a dead end. The gray rock was unforgiving, and she flailed against it. He laughed, closer. "And S-Seth said you liked me. How do you like me now?"

He was a foot away. Kendra couldn't breathe. She struck the rock again and again with her fists until the bright red of her blood smeared against it. But it didn't cave.

"Come on, Kendra. It's okay. You can trust me. Turn around."

Kendra was shaking. Teary-eyed, she turned around. And it wasn't Gavin she saw. Standing, tall, bright, and cold, was Bracken. His silver hair glowed, despite the darkness of the tunnel. "There, that's better, isn't it?" And then his hand was on her shoulder, shaking her. "Kendra! Kendra!"

"Kendra!" said Seth, shaking her awake. Kendra opened her eyes. "Are you alright?" asked her brother. "You were… kind of crying."

Kendra blinked. "I'm fine, Seth. What time is it?"

"Like, seven thirty."

"Did I wake you up?"

"Nah, I was up at seven. I'm going to help Dale negotiate with some of the darker creatures down by the stables. Are you sure you're alright?"

Kendra realized she was still clutching her comforter. She dropped it. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"You excited then?"

Kendra rolled her eyes. "For what, Seth?" She started getting up out of bed. She wiped her eyes and raked through her hair.

"Your boyfriend's coming to visit."

"He's not my boyfriend. Bracken's just-"

"Just a friend. Yeah right. You should just kiss him and be done with it." Kendra froze and looked down. Seth had given her that piece of wisdom before. Seth grimaced. "Oh. Right."

Kendra snorted. "Glad I didn't take your advice the first time."

"Right. Then you might've kissed the demon prince." Seth laughed. He rose his voice up. "Oh, Navarog, you've swept me right off my feet."

"Would I say that before or after he ate Dougan?" Kendra said. Seth scowled at her.

"Way to ruin the joke, Kendra."

"It was already ruined when he literally Maddox's brother and threw Mara off a cliff!"

"You just hate humor. Don't you know laughter's the best medicine?"

Kendra ran a brush through her hair. "I'm going to go down for breakfast. Have fun with Dale and whatever evil creature you're going to talk to."

Seth finger-gunned at her. "You say that like it's a bad thing. Enjoy your day with your boyfriend." He ran past her and out of the attic.

"He's not my boyfriend," sighed Kendra. And she followed him out.

Grandma set down a bowl of oatmeal in front of Kendra. "You excited to see Bracken today?"

"Yeah, of course," said Kendra. Kendra's mother sat down across from her and began poking at her bowl of oatmeal. "You should try it with the preserve the brownies made. It's delicious!"

Kendra's mom closed her eyes and nodded. "Of course."

Grandma smiled at Kendra. "He finally got some time away from the rebuilding?"

"Yeah. The Fairy Queen's keeping him really busy. He can barely leave her side!"

"But he leaves it to spend time with you."

Kendra blushed. "It's just for a few hours. We're just going to go for a walk around the preserve."

"It sounds like a date," said Kendra's mom. "You're going on a date with a unicorn." Her eyes drifted off into the distance.

"It's not a date. We're probably going to talk about rescuing fairies and other light creatures from collectors." Kendra swept her hair back. "It's not a big deal."

"At least you're not talking about dragons," muttered Grandma. Kendra took a bite of her oatmeal, pretending not to hear.

"I'm going to go for a swim before Bracken gets here. I'll be in the pool."

"Alright. Just make sure you put sunscreen on."

"Kendra put her bowl in the sink and filled it with water. "Yes, Grandma."

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Kendra cut through the water with ease. She had had Vanessa show her how to swim better, and was now practicing her breaststroke. Getting the timing right was challenging. She had to leave her arms out long enough for her kick to the finish, holding her breath the entire time. She tried not to think about her dream. How long had it been since Wyrmroost? Months and she still wasn't able to get Gavin out of her mind. Navarog. She swam to the wall and hoisted herself out. Logically, she knew Bracken wasn't some demon prince or evil turncoat. But then why did he show up in her dream?

She positioned herself to dive back in. "Kendra! Hello!" She fell gracelessly into the water, her goggles falling off. She swam back to the surface, sputtering.

"Bracken, hey! Hey is for horses. I mean, nevermind. Nevermind. Hi." She wanted to facepalm. "You're early."

Bracken's smile fell. "Too early? Arabella told me I was too early, but-"

"No! Of course not! You could never be too early. I just wasn't expecting you so soon. I'm just swimming." Kendra put her elbow on the wall of the pool to look up at Bracken, squinting her eyes against the sun.

"That sounds like great fun. That's one of the things I missed while I was in prison," said Bracken. Kendra kept squinting at him, wondering if she should laugh.

It was quiet for a few seconds. Then Kendra hoisted herself out of the pool. She grabbed her towel. "Um, give me ten minutes and we can go for our walk."

Bracken nodded. "Of course."

They started walking back to the house. Kendra marveled at how much easier it was to talk to him before they'd confessed their mutual feelings.

"How's the fairy kingdom?" she asked, eying a deep red fairy who was preening on a rose bush. "Is rebuilding going alright?"

Bracken nodded. "It's going wonderfully. There are a few spots of true darkness and squalor left, but in a few years, those will be mostly faded."

"How's your father?" asked Kendra, quietly.

Bracken's smile faded. "It's… a challenge. To see him in the state he's in. But his spirit is strong. I know he'll persevere."

"Good, I'm glad. Your family deserves some peace after all this time," said Kendra. She grabbed his hand. "You deserve some peace after all this time."

Then she heard hooting from behind her. "Ooh, I knew he was your boyfriend."

Kendra flushed and dropped Bracken's hand. Bracken grinned. "Hello, Seth. How are you?"

"Not as good as Kendra, probably,' Seth laughed, running up from the treeline. "You know, I was doubting her taste there for a little bit, but at least you know how to take a joke. Unlike Gavin."

Kendra grit her teeth. "Shut up, Seth."

Bracken looked back and forth between the two siblings. "Whose Gavin?"

"The boy Kendra had a crush on for like, a year. Until he turned out to be-"

"Shut up, Seth. I'm warning you," said Kendra.

Seth rolled his eyes. "I don't get why you won't tell him. It's been months! Honestly, if I'd had a crush on the Navarog the Honorary Demon, I'd be joking about it all the time." Kendra and Bracken stared at Seth. "Oh. Whoops. Sorry, Kendra."

Kendra made a grab for him. "Seth! I'm going to-"

"Good talking to you. See you later, Bracken," shouted Seth, dashing towards the house. Kendra wanted to scream, chase after him. But Bracken was staring at her. Kendra shut her eyes and took ten deep breaths. When she opened them again, Bracken was still staring at her.

"I can explain. Gavin-"

"Was the name Navarog the Demon Prince took to seem unassuming until he could betray you and use your powers for his own good. He lied and manipulated you into liking him. Seth is right, you should joke about it, just to laugh at the demise of such an evil creature," said Bracken.

Kendra stared at him and felt her eyes water. "I'm going to shower. I'll see you in a few minutes." And she walked into the house.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

In fresh clothes and with clean clothes, Kendra walked out to meet Bracken in the yard. He was surrounded by fairies, all giggling and fluttering around him. Kendra knelt down. "Hey."

Bracken immediately turned and grasped her hands, making the fairies around him pout. "Kendra, I'm sorry. I don't know what I said to upset you, but I deeply regret whatever it is it was. Please, forgive me."

Kendra smiled at him, small and sad. "Of course I forgive you, Bracken. I feel like I owe you an explanation, though." She stood up, taking Bracken with her. She walked them to the edge of the yard, and they crossed into the forest.

"You don't owe me anything."

"Then I want to give you an explanation. It isn't fair to hide things from the people you care about, right?" Kendra swallowed. "A little before I met you, I was in a relationship with a boy named Gavin. He was sweet, had a stutter, and was always brave. He sent me letters from obscure dragon sanctuaries filled with stories about his adventures for the Knights of the Dawn. He saved my life at the Lost Mesa Preserve, and I saved his."

Kendra sighed. They walked in silence until they reached the pond. They both sat down about five feet back from the water. Kendra hugged her knees. "I thought something might happen, especially when we went to Wyrmroost to get the key to the translocator vault. Seth even asked him while they had truth collars on if he was interested in me, and he said yes. But then he ate Dougan and tried to kill Mara. And me. And then he burned Warren in the knapsack. So Raxtus ate him."

Bracken laughed. "Good. I'm glad."

Kendra hid her head in her knees. "I'm… not." And at that, Bracken was silent. "I don't miss Navarog or the betrayal, but I miss… Gavin. He was a friend! I thought he liked me! But how can I grieve for him? How can I miss someone who wasn't real? That's the only relationship close to a romantic one that I've had. And I'm worried that…" Kendra dared a glance over at Bracken. "That our relationship will turn out that bad too."

The only sound Kendra could hear was the gentle rippling of the pond and the sounds of trees blowing in the wind. She shut her eyes. "I'm sorry," she said.

Then she felt his hand on hers. "No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have laughed. Not without knowing the full story."

'It's not your fault."

"And it's not yours either. But Kendra, know that I'll never betray you. I don't think I even could."

"Because you're a unicorn?"

"Because you're Kendra Sorenson, and I don't want to ever make you feel bad," said Bracken. Kendra slowly rested her head against his shoulder. "And I don't want to be eaten by Raxtus either. That would be… unpleasant." Kendra snorted. Bracken squeezed her hand. "But mostly because I never want to hurt you."

And the two just sat there, as the sun climbed higher in the sky and sparkled in the water. Kendra stared at the pure blue. Bracken wasn't Gavin. She could trust him. So she did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written by not-worth-a-bean on tumblr! Please give them lots of love!


	6. Midnight Drive

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written by 11JJ11!

"Burgess, wake up."

Warren let out a small grunt as an arm roughly shook his shoulder. Brown eyes cracked open, before quickly closing once more when he saw nothing but a dark room. He turned over in bed, ready to drift right back off to sleep. If the sun wasn't fully above the horizon, then there was no reason for his eyes to even be open. He pulled the covers tighter around him, listening to Dale's quiet snores.

"Don't even think about it," The voice muttered in annoyance, grabbing the covers and ripping them off of his bed. Still half asleep, Warren let out a whimper as a rush of cold air rushed over him, but this was only met with a snort from the voice. "Get up– I'm not telling you twice."

"It's the middle of the night, 'Nessa…" Warren muttered, soon recognizing the voice to be that of his girlfriend.

"Actually it's morning now," Vanessa said, and he could hear the smirk in her voice. He turned over to try to reclaim his blanket from her, but she had already kicked it across the floor. "And if you're not downstairs in the next five minutes I have a glass of ice water with your name on it."

And with that she turned on a heel, quietly shutting the door behind her. On the other side of the room, Dale let out a snort, turning over in bed, but remained fast asleep. Warren flashed his brother a jealous glance, wishing that he was the one still in bed. But not wanting to keep Vanessa waiting he rolled to his feet, stumbling to his closet to find a shirt to wear.

Unsurprisingly, no one else was awake as he made his way downstairs– just Vanessa sitting in the living room of the Fablehaven house, fingering a set of car keys in her hands. He cleared his throat as he leaned up in the doorway, and she quickly leapt to her feet. The two of them stared at each other for a few moments, before she finally gave him a small smirk.

"Took you long enough, Burgess," She said, setting one hand on her hip. She didn't seem tired at all, already completely ready for the day, suggesting that she had been up for some time now.

Warren struggled against a yawn. "Any particular reason why you woke me up at this unreasonable hour?" He gave her a small smile. "Not that I don't want to see my beautiful girlfriend, but I also like getting sleep."

"For the first time this week this ridiculous rain is finally gone," She reported as if this explained everything, and she held up her keys. "So we're going to take a little drive while we have the chance."

"At four in the morning."

"Yes, at four in the morning," She said, smirking slightly.

Knowing that he wasn't going to get any further explanation from her he just simply nodded, causing her to let out a small laugh. This, in turn, brought a smile to Warren– he loved Vanessa's laugh. Not her confident, boastful laugh– but her real, happy laugh when something truly made her smile. He reached for her hand, wrapping his fingers between hers as they headed towards the front door.

He tried to offer her a smile, but her gaze remained straight ahead as they headed out the door.

The night was cold, a slight wind blowing as they stepped outside. The sky was a dark blue, only a few stars remaining scattered in the night sky. Warren's gaze wasn't on this, however, but rather on Vanessa.

It was moments like these when she would relax, lowering her guard when they were alone and no one else was watching. But yet she carried herself as she always did– head held high, muscles slightly tensed as if anything could happen– and perhaps normally no one would blink twice at this, but a frown came over Warren's face.

"What's wrong, Vanessa?" He asked, knowing that this wasn't normal for her. She always embraced these times when they were alone when she could let go of the tension she always seemed to carry. She looked at him, before letting out a long sigh.

"Just get in the car," She muttered after a moment, shaking her head.

He wasn't sure how many cars she actually owned– she tended to rotate them out due to having chosen to permanently remain at Fablehaven. As skilled as she was as a driver, there was only so many times you could race down these roads without drawing the attention of the local law enforcement. She refused to tell anyone– including him– where she stored and bought her cars, but every few weeks it was a different one resting in the gravel driveway.

"Seriously, is something wrong?" Warren asked as he settled into the passenger seat, reaching to turn on the heater she even though she hadn't even turned on the engine. She didn't offer him any reply, just reaching into the back seat, ruffling through a small cooler. She handed him a small packet he recognized to be walrus butter.

"You're still half asleep," She replied, slipping on a pair of night vision 'sunglasses' as she turned the key, backing down the driveway as the engine rumbled to life. She drove slowly as she headed towards the main gate of Fablehaven. Warren slipped the butter into his mouth, eyes watering slightly as his eyes were opened to the magical world. He blinked a few times, now able to see the faint glows of fairies drifting through the garden. Of course, he knew he wouldn't be able to enjoy the sight for long.

She didn't disappoint– as soon as the car slipped out of the borders of the reserve she pressed her foot down onto the gas. The engine let out a roar, then the car was speeding like a bullet down the empty road.

* * *

 

"I'm pretty sure they have someone waiting for you nowadays," Warren chuckled as Vanessa left the wailing police car in the dust, having been able to slip out of the speed trap with ease. It used to be such a rare sight to see a cop along these backroads, but everyone at Fablehaven had begun to notice there was now usually at least one police car patrolling these roads.

"If they want to catch me then they should get better cars," She replied, making a sudden sharp turn. Warren jumped slightly, barely being able to see outside, even with the horizon starting to faintly turn gray. Even with sunrise not that far off, without the headlights, he was blind as Vanessa drove them down unknown roads.

"So, where are we headed?" Warren asked for the twelfth time tonight. Yes, he had been keeping track.

"I didn't tell you the first time, Burgess, so what makes you think I'm going to tell you now?"

"So you won't tell me where we're going," Warren said. "And you won't tell me what's wrong–"

"Nothing's wrong!"

"So then what can you tell me?" He finished, raising an eyebrow. Vanessa didn't reply right off– either thinking of an answer, or she was just busy trying to maneuver them around a car as they sped towards it. Within moments it was left behind them, and Warren wondered if the other car had even noticed them with how fast they drove.

Vanessa smirked slightly. "I'll give you a hint– how about that? We're headed to a place you've taken me before."

"Ah, what a wonderful hint," Warren said, rolling his eyes. "It's not like we've been to countless places before."

"Relax, we're only about ten minutes away now."

"Ten minutes my driving, or ten minutes yours?"

She snorted. "My driving. Any other driving might as well be walking."

* * *

 

The sun was just beginning to crest the horizon when Vanessa, at last, pulled the car to a stop, just enough light outside for Warren to be able to make out their surroundings. He could smell the scent of water as they stepped outside the car, birds already starting to sing, ending the silence of the daybreak. Out in the distance, he could see the surface of the lake, gleaming with the few rays of sun touching it.

A small smile came over Warren's face, and he slowly turned to face Vanessa. She was smiling as well, though there was a slight uncertainty in her gaze. He allowed his smile to turn into a grin, trying to let her know that he wasn't upset about her dragging him out here.

"Should have guessed," He said, hazel eyes gleaming. "You waking me up before sunrise should have given it away."

"I wanted to get here sooner," She remarked, pressing her lips together. "But this will have to do– let's get to the rocks."

Warren reached for her hand, her warm fingers slipping between his as they made their way towards the rocky shore of the lake. This place held a special meaning to both of them, though the first time they had driven out here it had taken several hours. But of course, him being behind the wheel was much different than when Vanessa was the one driving.

It was hard to believe it had been over two years since that first trip out here.

He had brought Vanessa out here for their first date– well, what they liked to consider their first official date. They had grabbed coffee together before and had survived awkward attempts of Seth trying to set them up. They both had feelings for each other, and both had been aware that the other did as well, but neither had been sure of where to go from there. She had suggested that they go somewhere private to discuss how they felt– so of course he had brought her to a lake to watch the sunrise.

She had called it cheesy in the moment, but that morning had been one of the few times he had seen her truly smile.

And by the Queen's shrine, she had looked beautiful.

They had planned to take things slow– but it wasn't long after that they had decided to make things official. Vanessa had been his girlfriend ever since, and these years with her had been some of the happiest in his life.

"Careful," Warren said as they reach the expanse of rocks and boulders, pausing to help Vanessa climb up onto one.

She rolled her eyes but allowed him to lift her up onto the boulder. He climbed up onto the rock after her, and promptly his foot slipped the moment he put his weight onto it. His eyes widened as he fell back, a burst of pain running through him as he crashed into the ground. Vanessa stared down at him from on top of the rock, before jumping down next to him. She reached out, grabbing his wrist, smirking as she helped him up.

"Careful," She muttered back tauntingly, causing him to flush in embarrassment. They both once again climbed onto the rocks, neither managing to slip this time.

This lake wasn't the most popular when it came to visitors– most of the shore being covered in giant rocks and boulders. They had to carefully make their way across them, one misstep would probably easily result in a twisted ankle. But the peace and quiet was nice, only the songs of the birds filling the air. They settled down on a particularly large boulder near the water. If it had been the middle of the hot day they probably would have dipped their feet into the lake, but instead they pressed close to each other to drive away the morning chill.

They sat in silence for a time, fingers interlocked, her head resting on his shoulder– just embracing the stillness of nature as they watched the sunrise. As the sun climbed higher in the sky its rays began to shine off the lake, the gray sky slowly turning a light blue. They could make out several fish occasionally skimming the surface of the lake– and he could also make out several things that were definitely not fish in the water as well. Warren was sure Vanessa could name whatever creatures they were– but no way was he going to ruin this moment by bringing up monsters.

"This is nice," He said quietly, turning to look at her. She was looking down at her feet, one hand in her jacket pocket. "I'm glad you brought me out here, it's a nice break from all the chaos back at home."

He let out a small chuckle, but Vanessa didn't return it.

He frowned slightly, sitting up a bit, turning to face her. He brushed a strand of dark hair behind her ear, and she glanced up at him. Warren didn't know what to make of this behavior– she looked happy… but something was just different in the way she was acting.

"'Nessa? Is everything alright?"

She smiled, eyes flickering away. "Everything is fine. Relax."

It sounded like she was saying that more to herself than him.

His frown deepened, and he regarded her some more. She was acting on edge, but not in the way she usually did. There was a smile in her eyes, but yet a slight twitch at the corner of her lips. She wasn't afraid to look at him, but yet her gaze seemed to keep darting away.

"Vanessa… are you nervous?" Warren asked after a moment.

She froze up for a second– but that was all he needed to see. He couldn't help but let out a small, surprised laugh. His Vanessa was nervous– a rare sight indeed. She flashed a scowl at him when she heard his chuckle, only making another laugh escape him.

"Oh– go jump in the lake, Burgess," She grumbled.

"You didn't deny it," Warren noted with a grin, and he leaned forward. "It must be my charming looks, isn't it? Even after all this time your heart can't help but flutter around me…"

"You're full of it."

"You're saying your heart doesn't flutter around me?" His grin widened.

She had a small smirk on her face, though after a moment it faded. Her hand returned to her pocket, and she stared out at the lake. "…Are you happy, Warren?"

"Besides from only getting a few hours of sleep, yes. I am perfectly happy right now," Warren said, stretching out as the sun washed over them.

"No– I mean are you happy about us?" She asked, and she looked towards him. His playful expression slowly faded, seeing that she was truly looking for an answer. He looked into her eyes, and he squeezed her hand.

"Vanessa, I don't think I've been happier," Warren said, quietly. "Being with you… these have been the best years of my life," He hesitated. "…Are you happy?"

She took in a deep breath. "Yes, I am happy– but there is a problem I want to discuss."

Warren swallowed, his heart nervously skipping a beat. Immediately his mind began to review his every interaction with Vanessa in the past week– every time he had looked at her, every word he had said to her, every kiss he had given her– wondering what he possibly could have done wrong.

"And what problem is that?" He asked slowly, trying not to let his mounting panic show. Had he said something wrong? Had she been needing something and he hadn't noticed? Had–?

"My name," She said simply, still watching him.

"Um…" Her name? Had he called her by an embarrassing nickname or something? He tried to think back– but nothing was coming to mind. "…Which one?"

"Santoro," She said, tilting her head slightly. "I don't want that last name anymore."

Warren stared at her blankly. "Oh…? Um, what one do you want then…?"

"I want yours, Burgess," Vanessa said softly.

She pulled her hand out of her pocket, Warren glancing down in time to see her flick open a small velvet box. His breath got caught in his throat as his eyes settled on a small golden band resting inside the ring box.

For a moment he couldn't speak. "'Nessa…?"

She smiled, offering the ring box to him. "Warren Burgess, will you marry me?"

He felt his throat closing up as he looked at the ring. A warmth had blossomed in his chest, one that made the sun's rays feel like ice. There were a thousand thoughts running through his mind, his eyes focused on that golden speck in his blurred vision. There was only one word he wanted to say, but as he opened his mouth nothing came. He struggled against himself, his mounting joy only bringing tears to his eyes.

Vanessa wanted to marry him.

Knowing that he wouldn't be able to say a word, Warren nodded his head, a smile spreading over his face. Tears were still in his eyes, blurring his vision, so he barely noticed as the ring was pulled away. The next thing he knew Vanessa was pulling him in close– her lips pressing against his, and he felt as if he could just float away.

He wrapped his arm around hers– the other still entangled in her hand. He brought her in close, eyes sliding shut, a fiery joy burning in his heart as he returned the kiss. It was a moment couldn't quite describe, so many thoughts in his mind– but he felt nothing but bliss. He pulled her closer, not wanting the moment to end.

But soon they pulled apart, their eyes sliding open as they looked at each other. His heart was hammering in his chest, mind racing to catch up with everything that had just happened. Vanessa carefully cradled his hand, slipping the ring onto it. He blinked several times, before looking down at the golden band. Strange characters were engraved across it, which he recognized the writing to be fairy tongue– though he didn't recognize any of the words. He would have to ask Kendra for a translation.

"I've been wanting to ask you all week," Vanessa whispered quietly. "But every day it was raining."

"This is perfect," Warren said, wrapping his hands around one of hers. "This is absolutely perfect."

She smiled. "Forgive me for waking you up?"

He grinned at his girlfriend– no– his _fiancee._

"I love you, Vanessa," He said quietly.

She leaned up against him. "And I love you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written by 11JJ11! Please give them lots of love!


	7. Finally Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written by crazycookie13o on tumblr!

When Seth disappeared with Ronodin my life was torn to shreds, I felt broken. Bracken was gone, my brother's memory was wiped clean and he was taken.

All I can remember when I got back to the castle was emptiness. I was there, but the one person who's been with me through almost everything was gone and it was my fault. I couldn't even explain what had happened to my grandparents. If I had opened the door he would still be here, it's my fault if I had just done better Seth would be safe. If I could've realized what was happening Seth would be safe, but I was stupid and couldn't even figure out what Ronodin was planning.

After everything was finally explained I just started crying I knew that wasn't helping anyone, but Seth could die and it would be my fault. I think everyone tried to give me space, but at this point, I don't think anything would have helped. It had been a week and apparently, Tanu had seen enough of my moping and he tried to cheer me up and he even helped me develop plans to find Seth.

There was nothing we could do though because I was now the sole caretaker of Wyrmroost. I wish everything would've gone back to normal after the demon war, but life isn't like that I guess. So that's how I started my tiring role of being sole caretaker. Only now with the official war, so many more problems were happening, but I guess that's how it goes. It's not like I have any other options unless hiding and crying in my room was a valid option. Sadly it wasn't but at that point, I don't think I could've slept. So I kept going and making plans to save them most nights I think I averaged 5-6 hours of sleep, but it was okay I just couldn't bear the thought of letting everyone down.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Another meeting, they've been happening a lot lately and I don't know how much more I can take. I know I have my grandparents and all the assistants, but I just… I miss Seth and Bracken so much, everything would be easier with them here. I have to keep searching for them then maybe I can rest easy.

With luck, I'll find them soon and then I'll be able to breathe freely again. I just don't know what to do anymore I feel like the world is against me at this point. I can hear Grandpa shouting for me, and honestly, I just want to sleep.

"Kendra can you come and talk with your Grandma and I we have to discuss important events after that meeting"

"I know I know, I'm coming" I shouted back so they wouldn't have to come up after me. Lately, the meetings have been putting more and more stress on them. I wish I could help, but I don't think I'm any less stressed. But I know how hard they try to make things better for me and sometimes I feel so selfish, I should be doing more to help.

As I walk into my grandparent's room I hear a different voice it sounded familiar. When I look around that's when I see them and I can't help it. I can feel tears coming to my eyes and I want to believe it's them that Seth is here and Bracken is with him, but it's been so long and then Bracken spoke.

"Hi Kendra, I've missed you," It wasn't until he said those words that I realized how beat up he looked. His clothes were covered in dirt and his face and arms were bruised and bloody yet his smile was so warm and I couldn't help, but smile back.

"Just to inform you all, I'm here too," Seth said.

"Really Seth? Kendra and I were having a moment," Bracken mumbled.

"Seth...your memories are back?!"

"I mean yeah, thanks to your unicorn boyfriend over there. Otherwise, I'd probably still be stuck with Ronodin."

They were back I couldn't believe it. They were here and I could finally have peace. Relief came washing over me they were safe, they're okay and I couldn't help it I just broke down sobbing.

"Did Seth say something wrong, did we do something?" Bracken asked worriedly.

"No," I said through my hiccups and sobs. "No, I'm just so glad you're finally home."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written by crazycookie13o on tumblr! Please give them lots of love!


	8. Unnecessary Trinkets

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written by potionsmagicandmilk on tumblr!

Dale Burgess was, in his own opinion, a relatively unlucky man.

Not to say his life was all woe. It’s not like he had managed to gain supernatural status in his preteen years, unlike some people. But stuff got rough.

Like when he got turned into a statue, or got controlled in his sleep and stuck in a net, or had to lock himself in the barn with a giant, nervous cow while his home turned to hell outside. But that was only sometimes, and he tried not to be to whiny about it, just because it probably was a pain for everyone else to hear when they all had their fair share of misery.

So he was surprised when Kendra came into his room with a cactus.

“Why a cactus.” He arched an eyebrow at her, spinning around in his desk chair. His room in the main house was relatively barren—most of his belongings were out at the cabin—but it was nice to wake up in the morning and not have to eat breakfast alone.

“Don’t give me that look.” Kendra set the little pot on Dale’s dresser. “It’s for a good luck charm.”

“A good luck charm.”

“You’re so mean!” Kendra stuck out her tongue. “Just give it a shot!”

Dale waved a hand. “Hey, hey, I’m not doubting you! I’m just wondering how a cactus is good luck.”

Kendra shrugged and bounced on her toes. She had hit a bit of a growth spurt after her sixteenth birthday, but still remained one of the shorter members of the household. “I mean, it doesn’t have to be a cactus. But you look after the whole preserve already, so I figured something easy would be best.”

“Mhm.” Dale eyed the little plant. “Yeah, cacti are pretty easy… so why?”

“It’s a good luck charm!” Kendra clasped her hands, eyes shining. “Cuz you’re so dang unlucky.”

“Ouch.”

“Meant with love! There’s this old superstition that if you get hurt, your plants take the brunt of it for you. So maybe they’ll take some of your bad luck.”

“So the cactus’ll be unlucky for me. I’m down with that.” Dale shrugged carelessly, but he found it a bit hard to believe. Magic, fairies, talking dirt piles, sure. Superstitious cacti? Meh.

Kendra cheerfully squished her hands against her cheeks, grinning, and Dale couldn’t find it in his heart to say anything. Just let her smile and be happy. So he gave her a smile and thumbs up.

“Great! I’ll see you around, then.” With that, Kendra skipped out with a light wave.

Dale sighed and spun around in his chair again, finally slowing to a halt when his eyes start to cross from dizziness. He leaned over his new friend, attempted to check out the neat little flower on its top, and promptly got a needle stuck in his finger.

Oh boy. This was going to work out great.

—

Dale had named his cactus Tiny Jerk (TJ for short), because that was what it was it was. So far he had pricked himself three more times, all when trying to figure out if it was healthy or not. So that was working out great.

At least his own luck seemed to be the same. He had banged his knee on his desk and accidentally dropped his daily checklist in the mud, but that stuff felt pretty average. Nothing caused or prevented by a superstitious cactus.

Until he found a zombie finger on his pillow.

Oh, Dale shrieked.

Once he managed to compose himself and assure Ruth that no, he wasn’t being murdered, please put the crossbow away, he stormed up the stairs and banged open the door to the attic. “Seth!”

Several papers—what looked like a comic in progress—go flying as Seth scrambled up from his desk. “What’s happening? Are we under attack?”

On her half of the room, Kendra casually lifted one side of her headphones. “Hm?”

Dale huffed and opened his palm, showing off the zombie finger. “Somebody left this in my bedroom.” He gave Seth his best stink-eye.

“Oh, that!” Seth gave a relieved smile and flops back into his chair. “Yeah, it’s a gift!”

Kendra snorted. “Told you. You should’ve given it to him in person.”

“Aw, but Dale’s always busy.” Seth pouted and started fiddling with his pencil, tossing it up to do flips and catching it over his fingers. “Preserve stuff.”

Oof. That was true. Dale was no stranger to dawn-to-dusk work, depending on what was happening around the preserve. He managed a shrug. “No excuse to scare me like that.”

“It wasn’t meant to be a scare!” Seth protested. He sat up a bit straighter. “It’s meant to be more lucky! Cuz Kendra said she got you a cactus, so, another lucky thing!”

Dale rubbed his forehead. “A lucky… zombie finger.”

“Yes.” Seth sounded almost professionally serious, though it was a bit ruined by Kendra stifling her laughter.

“…Fine.” Dale hesitantly tucked the finger into his shirt pocket, trying to not look ill. “Thank you. Where did you even get it?”

Seth just gave a wink and a finger gun, which definitely wasn’t answer enough, so Kendra spoke before Dale could say anything else. “Raxtus found a zombie running around outside the preserves and dumped it here. But it ended up just dying again, so.” Kendra shrugged. “Seth decided to be super weird and take a finger.”

“It’s a pinky,” Seth said helpfully.

Dale forced a smile despite the gross smell from his pocket, but… it was nice of them. He never really expected them to care about something as dumb as his luck, but here they were. “Well… thank you for the lucky zombie pinky finger.”

“Yeah!” Seth cheerfully fist pumped. “Lucky, lucky!”

Yeah, no.

—

“Nice cactus.”

“Eeugh. Don’t remind me.”

Tanu snorted and wrapped another bandage around Dale’s shoulder. “What, not a fan? I thought you like gardening.”

“No, I do, I do…” Dale prodded the wrapped part of the injury and grimaced. Just his luck, the one day he chose to take a shortcut through the woods was the one day the dryads were hunting. At least it hadn’t been too hard to cut the arrow out. “It’s supposed to be a good luck charm. You can take a guess how well that’s working out.”

Tanu laughed, which was surprisingly relieving to hear. His expression had been one of controlled worry ever since Dale got home, and hearing him relax was like melting a glacier of stress. “Oh, yeah, it’s doing great.”

“Mhm. Though I think it’s the zombie finger that jinxed me.”

“The what now.”

“Yeah.” Dale snorted. “Apparently it’s a good luck charm. Seth gave it to me.” He leaned over and twisted the pot around, showing off a grayed finger stuck in the dirt.

Tanu groaned and rolled his eyes. “Y’know, I was wondering where that went. Zombies don’t lose just a hand and nothing else. Now I gotta worry about Seth hiding the rest of that thing under my bed.”

Dale managed a laugh, and it somehow felt like that was a better cure for the pain than anything else. “I bet he’ll throw it at me, with my luck.”

“Y’know, I don’t have a luck potion, but—” Tanu grabbed his potion bag from where it laid on the floor and popped it open. After a moment of digging around, he pulled out a small staff of green, only a little over an inch long. “Bamboo is said to bring luck. Add it to your collection.”

Dale must’ve had a pretty ridiculous expression, because suddenly Tanu was stifling laughter. “Oh, come on! I’m trying to be nice about it. Take the plant.”

With a scoff, Dale does, and set it down next to his cactus-zombie-finger combo. But it was nice. Bamboo wasn’t a bad thing to have in his room…

“Thanks, man.”

“No prob. Now stop squirming and let me fix this before your bad luck gives you an infection.”

—

“Hey, big bro! How’s your shoulder feeling?”

Dale mumbled vaguely and waved his hand, making sure to not spill the coffee he was pouring with the other. “Doin’ good. What are you doing up so early? You never get up before me.”

Warren snickered and leaned against the counter. “Guess again. I’m up normal time.”

“W—what?” Dale nearly dropped his coffee pot in his spin to face the clock. The time 9:37 stared back at him. “Oh my god! Everything’s gonna get screwed up! Where’s my boots—”

“Dude. Relax.” Warren held out his arm before Dale could run himself into a wall. “Ruth turned your alarm off—no way you’re working for like, the next week. Doc’s orders.”

“Doc being?”

“Tanu.”

“And he didn’t say this to me because?”

Warren grinned. “He knew you wouldn’t like it.”

There was a brief stare-down between the two, but after a minute, Dale just sighed and took a swig of coffee. “Y’all give me heart attacks every day, y’know. Who’s taking over?”

“And you love it!” Warren laughed, clapping a hand on Dale’s back. “Me, Tanu, and Nessa are splitting it. I get to go out in…” he checked his watch, “about an hour. So that’s fun!”

“Please don’t take any shortcuts,” groaned Dale. “Your luck is always somehow worse than mine.”

“It’s not that bad,” hummed Warren, to which Dale gave him the worst look he could muster. “…Okay, maybe a little bad, but I’ve got my lucky days! Oh, talking about luck—Tanu said you were collecting good luck charms?”

“Sure, I guess.” Dale sipped his coffee. The bitter taste wasn’t as good knowing he didn’t even need to be awake… but what was he supposed to do with himself now? “I’ve got… three now? Yeah, three. Why do you ask?”

“Four.” Warren dropped something around Dale’s neck. When he looked down, a set of dog tags gleamed dully around his neck. “I was wearing those when we went down into the Inverted Tower!”

“You nearly died; how is that lucky?”

“‘Cuz I got to see you actually smile!” Warren grinned. “You were really happy to see me.”

Dale scoffed, but he felt a bit warm. How cheesy… but nice. And not wrong. “You were just glad to not be catatonic.” 

“Sure.” Warren did jazz hands. “But I think it would be lucky for you! Or at least look cool. C’mon, you gotta wear something other than plaid.” 

“Mhm.” Dale lifted his coffee mug to hide his smile. “Yeah, yeah. Just don’t go getting bad luck for yourself now, okay?”

“No promises!” Warren laughed, attempted to run off before Dale could say anything, and slammed his toe into the counter. He hopped around a bit, half cursing, half laughing, and ducked out. 

Dale smirked into his drink. Bad luck really did run in their family.

—

Dale, quite honestly, wasn’t sure what to do with himself. He tried heading outside to check on the garden—no luck, Kendra caught him and just about threw him back inside. He went to clean up around the house and couldn’t even reach the cabinets without his shoulder hurting—he wasn’t even using his bad arm!—and of course Stan hadn’t agreed to a TV just yet. He ended up on the couch, scrolling aimlessly through his phone with his good hand, unimpressed with his social media feed. Wasn’t that stuff kind of pointless? At least there were some good pictures from Kendra, and some pretty nature panoramas. That kind of thing he liked.

“Yo.”

Vanessa was leaning over the back of the couch, face streaked with dirt. She looked quite grumpy, and Dale couldn’t help but tense up—yes, she was on their side, but she still wasn’t the type of person anyone wanted to upset. 

“Could you run through how to deal with the gnomes? I think Stan’s info is a little dated.”

“Huh? Oh—” Dale sat up, wincing and rubbing his shoulder. “Y—yeah, one sec.” 

He had never pegged her as the sympathetic type, but Vanessa still nodded with a concerned look. “Don’t pass out.”

“Good idea.”

Dale swung himself upright and huffed through his nose. Geez. It really was gonna hurt to move around for the next two or so weeks, huh?

“Gnomes.” He rubbed his forehead. “Um, they change all the time, it’s pretty wild… I think my notepad’s in my room, it’s got all my info on it.” 

He started to get up, but Vanessa pushed down on his good shoulder, and he fell back onto the couch with a whump. “Nuh-uh. Chill out. You shouldn’t be running up and down the stairs when you need your energy to heal.”

Dale went to protest, but she was gone before a word was even out of his mouth, and then back down the stairs again as soon as he had settled back down. In her hands was a faded red notepad, which she shoved in Dale’s face as soon as she was within range—though it seemed more like she didn’t want to damage it by holding on to it rather than anything else.

“Right.” Dale flipped it open. “Uh, gimme a second…” He pawed through the pages. Here was his notes on the trolls, here was a crude map of the centaur territories, here was an ugly drawing of a frog that he has no memory of doing—he stopped on that one, smiled a bit at Seth’s signature in the corner, and kept flipping. 

Vanessa rested casually against the couch, idly twirling a strand of hair around her finger, but she eventually spoke. “By the way, what’s with the cactus on your desk?”

Dale must’ve groaned louder than he meant to, because Vanessa leaned away with her palms out. “Okay, don’t ask about the cactus, geez.”

“No, no, I—ugh.” Dale waved a hand. “The cactus is okay. Kendra got it for me. S’named TJ.”

“TJ.”

“Stands for Tiny Jerk. Cuz it pricked me.”

“Tiny Jerk.” Vanessa sounded incredulous, but there was a small smile on her face. “That’s. A name, for sure.”

“It sure is.” Dale landed on the page he wanted. “Here—it’s not that much, but if you follow this, it should be okay.” He turned the notepad toward her.

Vanessa scanned it over and whistled lowly. “You really like to keep it organized, huh.”

“I’ve got to. Only way to keep track of it all.” Okay, maybe he was a little bit particular about how everything went, but keeping track was important.

Vanessa nodded over the list and skimmed a finger down it. Her nail polish was a bit damaged, but something about the way she held herself made it seem more like a part of her intended appearance rather than just a few chips. She hummed a bit and nodded. “Right. One more question.”

“Shoot.”

“Why does your cactus have a dead finger next to it.”

Vanessa choked on her laughter as Dale groaned again. “Listen, that wasn’t my idea! Seth gave it to me!”

“And you kept it?”

“Would you throw something out that one of those kids gave you?” He gave her a doubtful look. “Look, apparently it’s lucky, according to Seth. And Kendra says TJ is lucky. So now I’ve got a bunch of lucky stuff from them and Tanu and Warren, which very clearly helped with the arrow in my shoulder.”

“You’re a collector,” Vanessa said, and it wasn’t as dry as Dale expected. She was actually grinning. “Someday you’ll find a dozen four-leaf clovers.”

“Mhm. And then I’ll get a few more arrows, and fall down a hill, and it’ll probably rain.”

There was a few beats of silence before they both started snickering. “Gosh, you and your luck.” She rolled her eyes. “Look, don’t find a way to go tumbling down the stairs while everyone’s out. I’m not doing your job for longer than I have to, got it?” To prove her point, she swiped a bit of dirt from her face and scowled at it before wiping it on her shirt.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Just don’t piss off the gnomes.”

“I’ll try.”

She, Warren, and Tanu must’ve been successful at appeasing the gnomes, because they didn’t come back to ask for more help, and instead tumbled in at sunset when all the work was done. All three were yawning and drenched in sweat, but they seemed pretty proud of everything they had done.

“How do you do it, man.” Warren smoothed back his hair. “Dang. Took three of us to make up one of you.”

“Well, you could put a million mes on a mission and I don’t think it would go anywhere, so cut yourself some slack.” Dale smiled and set down his book. Kendra had casually dropped it near him when he had tossed around restlessly for the millionth time, and although he had never thought he would like sci-fi, she really had found a good one.

“Ugh. I’m gonna take a three hour shower,” laughed Tanu. “And then sleep like a rock.”

“It’s good cardio. Here.” Vanessa dropped something on Dale’s head.

“Hm—oh no.” The moment he picked up the four leaf clover, Dale tried to shove it back at Vanessa. “I don’t want it!”

“It’s lucky!” Vanessa stepped out of range, roaring with laughter.

“Not for me! I don’t get good luck!”

Vanessa swung around the stair banister. “You think I want it? You’ve touched it—it’s tainted now!”

“A real collection you got there,” snorted Tanu. “Can you go over the to-do list with me one more time? I wanna make sure we got everything.”

Dale grumbled, but he was stuck. So he ended up taking the clover upstairs and dumping it into his little collection.

Well, it wasn’t terrible. At least it wasn’t a rotting finger, which was honestly starting to smell a little gross.

—

“How’s it feel now?”

Dale hesitantly flexed his shoulder, face scrunched up and ready for pain, but… it was fine. Everything worked the way it was supposed to, like nothing had gotten stuck in there in the first place. “Dude, holy cow.”

Bracken grinned bashfully, crossing his feet under him on the living room couch. “It’s just a bit of magic. But I’m glad I could help.”

“Yeah, magic that just saved the others from a week and a half of work.” Dale started tugging the bandages off his shoulder, and although he had seen Bracken’s healing at work before, he still felt stunned to see undamaged skin. “Thank you. I owe you big time.”

Bracken covered his mouth with one hand and laughed, which seemed like one of the few gestures that really seemed “princely” of him. Otherwise, Dale had seen him do cartwheels and slip in mud puddles, and that version of him was honestly quite fun. “It’s nothing. Just let me know if it starts hurting again or something, okay? I’m… admittedly out of practice.”

Right. After being stuck in a dungeon for centuries with no horns. Dale wasn’t the best at social stuff, but he knew not to press that, and instead let a moment of silence slip by. The only noise was the chatter of the others in the kitchen.

“I’ll keep it in mind. No worries, though, I’m sure it’s all good,” Dale attempted to reassure him.

“I hope so. What did Kendra say… cross your fingers?” Bracken held up his crossed fingers and stopped. “Uh. Please don’t make that face.”

“Ugh, sorry.” Dale wiped a hand over his eyes, but he couldn’t help but smile. “S’not bad, just. Geez. Everyone’s been throwing stuff at me and saying it’s lucky. I mean, I don’t think any of them actually think it’s lucky, but. It’s just a bunch of little things for pretty much no reason.”

Bracken laughed openly at that. “Luck,” he said.

Dale snorted. Laughter was contagious… “And let me guess—you’ve got your own lucky charms.”

“Well, duh.” Bracken shrugged. “But I guess the Fairy Kingdom does it a little different? That’s what I’ve seen so far.”

“Plants? Dog tags? Zombie fingers?”

“What? Um, no? People.”

Dale blinked. “What do you mean, people?”

“Well… The more people you have who love you, the luckier you are. But that one may just be gratitude alone.” He waved a hand to the kitchen. Someone—probably Seth—was pleading for a try of whatever had just been baked, and Kendra’s voice drifted out telling him it was far too hot and he was going to burn his tongue. Tanu’s humming baritone and Vanessa’s relaxed alto murmured in and out, and Warren was clanging around as he presumably washed dishes or attempted chaos or stubbed his toe for the millionth time.

“Sounds cheesy…”

“Is it wrong?”

Dale glanced to the kitchen again, where a bit of excitement was starting up as Kendra started to hand out whatever she had made. “…Not really.”

“Try making a habit of telling them that, perhaps. And maybe that’ll be your lucky charm.” Bracken beamed peacefully and sunk back into the couch.

“…” Dale felt a smile on his own face. “…I think I will.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written by potionsmagicandmilk on tumblr! Please give them lots of love!


	9. Of Beanies And Mistletoe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written by PointlesslyPoetic on ao3, ff.net, and tumblr!

If you had asked Mara Tabares how she wanted to spend her Christmas Eve, hunting down ornaments in a frigid attic in Connecticut would have been pretty far down the list of acceptable answers. She huffed in the cold air, shoving another box of antiques out of her way. Her breath fogged and disappeared into the low light.

“Whoa, check out this sick lava lamp!”

Addendum; if you had asked Mara how she wanted to spend tonight, scouring an attic with only Elise for company would have been one spot farther down the list. She winced as the other woman’s voice cut through the silence like a knife. Mara like that silence and she didn’t appreciate the “help” butchering it.

“Elise, lava lamps haven’t been in style in decades.”

“This one’s a rainbow. Rainbows are pretty in-style if you ask me.”

“I didn’t.”

“Hater.”

Elise chucked the lamp into her little pile of items she had pilfered and decided to keep. Ruth had said they were welcome to anything up here, so long as they cleaned and managed to find the missing box of ornaments. 

“This sounds kind of ornamental.” Elise held up a box and shook it none-too-gently. Whatever was inside clashed, crunched, and chattered against itself, sounding distinctly glass-like.

“That sounds broken.” Mara deadpanned. Elise giggled. 

“Ruth never said they had to be intact.”

“I’m almost certain it was heavily implied.”

Elise peeled open the cardboard. “It’s an old, broken vase. Not ornaments.”

“Garbage, then.”

“Not so fast!” Elise held the box to her chest. “I can make a really cool windchime out of this.”

Mara scowled. “This is taking forever because of you. You don’t need all this crap.”

“I sure would like it.” Elise blinked, unfazed by Mara’s brusqueness.

“Do what you want, but do it faster. It’s freezing up here, and it smells weird.”

“Y’know,” Elise smirked at her, and Mara’s insides did a weird loop. She hoped she wasn’t getting sick. “I could warm you up. I smell better than the attic.” She waggled her eyebrows. 

Mara felt heat creeping up her neck. “Not by much,” she scowled. “Just keep looking.” 

Elise giggled at turned away, and Mara took the chance to retreat to a different area of the ridiculously big storage attic. Of all the people to be stuck with, it had to be the chatty Knight who didn’t understand personal boundaries. Mara didn’t dislike Elise, she just preferred company that didn’t flirt so much, or talk so loud, or get so excited, or act so distracting-

Mara shook her head, cutting off her treacherous train of thought. 

“Focus,” she told herself. She spent the next ten minutes rifling through a box of old books, setting Patton’s journals and other field guides off to the side. Patton’s annotated edition of The Gentleman’s Guide to Fine Facial Hair was also kept. She had finished about three boxes when she felt someone behind her.

“Elise,” Mara growled. 

“Yes?” Elise’s voice was very near her left ear, and Mara suppressed a shudder. 

“We’ve talked about this.”

“Personal space, yeah, I know.”

“So?”

“Um, well…”

Mara turned and saw Elise tangled in a string of Christmas lights. She quirked an eyebrow at the unlucky woman.

“I don’t know if I wanna know.”

“Ya see, there was an old catapult thingy, and I saw the lights next to it, and I thought-”

“Nope. I was right. I don’t wanna know.”

“So.”

“So.”

“Help?” Elise smiled sheepishly, her eyebrows disappearing under her beanie as she pouted. Mara sighed but began untangling her.

“Thanks, Mara,” Elise whispered, sounding actually contrite.

“Don’t mention it,” she muttered. A few seconds passed before Elise began talking again.

“Sorry.”

“For what?” Mara was genuinely confused. It really wasn’t Elise’s fault there was a catapult of all things in this icy hell. 

“That you’re stuck with me.” 

Elise’s muttered confession stopped Mara in her tracks totally. She drew herself up to her full height from where she had been bent over the lights. Even without the boots she currently had on, she stood a good 6 inches taller than Elise. 

“I’m not- that is, I don’t think- I didn’t mean-” Mara stumbled over her words, then stopped trying. She blushed hard, embarrassed. This is why she didn’t open her mouth if she could help it. 

“It’s okay,” Elise shrugged. “I know how annoying I can get. I never know when to shut up. Or the space thing. I guess I just forget to care-”

“I don’t think you’re annoying!” Mara blurted, louder than she meant to. She softened her voice. “And- and I think it’s cool that you, um, that you don’t, y’know, care.”

“Oh.” Elise looked dumbfounded. And somewhat ridiculous, Mara thought wryly, tangled up in lights. She snorted, then laughed at her snort, and before she knew it, she was actually giggling. 

“Uh, you good, Tabares?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Mara gasped. “You just look stupid as hell.”

“Hey!” Elise tried to sound angry but found herself beginning to laugh along. The two sat there, laughing freely and openly, for a good while before beginning to calm down. Mara sobered first and knelt down to continue untangling Elise. 

“I’m sorry I made you feel like I found you annoying.” Mara murmured. “I just like my space and my silence. I always have. But when you’re around, I find myself talking more, filling the silence. I don’t totally hate when you invade my space. It confuses me.”

“Oh,” Elise was blushing, not that Mara noticed. “Well, I don’t think that’s so confusing.”

“No?” Mara scowled up at her, and Elise’s blush intensified. “Enlighten me, then.”

“Well, I’m gonna need you to stand up and follow me then.”

Mara stood, smirking in amusement that only one of Elise’s legs was totally free. She hobbled back over to her area, the lava lamp and shattered vase in a pile a few feet away with other would-be trash. Elise stopped short, and Mara bumped into her.

“You okay there, Elise?”

Elise whirled around to face her. “Uh, yeah. I’m great. Uh, fantastic.”

“Okay, well…” Mara gestured for her to elaborate on her previous statement. 

Elise swallowed hard, her blush returning. She jerked her head upward, her beanie now crooked on her head. Mara fought the urge to right it. She glanced up and felt the blood rush to her face. 

Mistletoe was stapled haphazardly to the ceiling beam, it’s red berries glinting mockingly in the shoddy light. Mara’s mouth was dry as she looked back down at Elise. 

“Did you put this here?”

Elise started rambling. “No, but I’m never one to not take advantage of a well-placed plant, y’know what I mean? Of course, you do, you’re resourceful, like on that one mission to the Adirondacks when you- mmph!”

Elise found her stream of consciousness interrupted Mara’s lips on hers. Both stood ramrod straight, not daring to move until Mara began to pull away and Elise panicked. She surged forward, all but crashing into Mara, who caught her before her still-immobile body could tumble to the floor. Elise pressed her mouth insistently to Mara’s, hoping she couldn’t taste the desperation coursing through her. Mara made a soft noise in the back of her throat and pressed back, calm and steady. 

Mara wasn’t sure how long they stood together, lips moving together in what was easily the best kiss Mara had ever experienced. Even hindered by Christmas lights, Elise was a talented kisser. Eventually, they broke apart, and reality came crashing back to both of them. Mara spoke before Elise could start rambling again. 

“I’m sorry-”

“Don’t be sorry!”

“Was that okay?”

“Yeah, really okay.”

“So.”

“So.” Elise tried to step forward and reach up to cup Mara’s cheek but found herself nearly falling to the ground. “Ah, crap! A little help?”

Mara chuckled. “Sure thing.”

Soon enough, the Christmas lights were puddled around Elise’s feet, and Elise had her arms thrown around Mara’s hips. Mara’s long arms were resting on her shorter friend’s shoulders. She was doing her best to be okay with the proximity, but Elise could feel her twitching in the loose hold. 

“Hey, Mara?” Elise looked up at her. 

“Yeah?”

“I’d really like to do that again.”

“Oh, um-” Mara felt like a deer in headlights. “I would too. Just, um, maybe somewhere warmer.”

“Copy that,” Elise winked. “So, let’s find these stupid ornaments and call it a night.”

“Mara! Elise!” Seth’s voice boomed around the echoing attic, and the two sprung apart like they’d been shocked by lightning. 

“Yeah?” Elise yelled back, trying to hide her annoyance. 

“We found the ornaments! Warren had them a the cabin, he just brought them over!”

“Are you kidding me?” Mara muttered. 

“Thanks for the heads up little man!” Elise called back, then turned to Mara. “Well, I guess that’s that.”

“Is it?” Mara peered at her curiously. 

“It doesn’t have to be.” Elise stepped back into her space. Neither were talking about the ornaments. “I know a cafe, not far from here. Nice place for a date, if you’re into that.”

“You know,” Mara reached up, finally giving in to the urge to fix the wayward beanie. She tugged it gently into place, leaving her hands cupping Elise’s jaw. “I think I could be.”

Elise beamed, reaching up to hold Mara’s wrists. “Merry Christmas?” she asked. 

Mara nodded and kissed Elise’s cheek. “Yeah, it is.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written by PointlesslyPoetic on ao3, ff.net, and tumblr! Please give them lots of love!


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ANNNNDDDDD this was written by me! as in feministkendra! I wrote it with the song Rewrite The Stars from The Greatest Showman in mind so I hope those who know the song enjoy this and those who don't know the song give it a listen! It's a beautiful song and it made me think of brackendra, hope you guys like it!

Kendra stretched lazily on her yoga mat outside. With all the hard training she did, sometimes her favorite pastime would be to take a mat outside and stretch her aching muscles out in the sun. With a history of dance and aerial skills such as silks and aerial hoop, she was pretty flexible and sometimes would even freak Warren out by bending her back in half with one of her legs up in the air straight behind her.

His face made her laugh every time.

Sitting in a middle split she lowered her stomach to the ground and closed her eyes, just relaxing and taking in the summer air. It was a peaceful enough day, with some clouds blocking the sun from making it too hot and a slight cool breeze in the air.

"Ugh, look who's out here again," came a tiny voice from her left. Kendra held in her laughter, knowing the fairy was talking about her. One of their favorite topics was to trash talk her, and most of the time Kendra didn't mind.

"Honestly, who does she think she is? Making us see her ugly face again and again. It's revolting," came a different voice.

This comment hurt a little more. Kendra has never had the best confidence, especially when it came to the physical aspects of her. She knew what they were saying wasn't true, but that doesn't mean the words didn't hurt.

"Not to mention, that's the thing that got Prince Bracken's attention? Those years in prison really hurt his taste in women," the other fairy tittered. Kendra compressed her lips, these comments bothered her as well and she considered getting up and moving to her room so she wouldn't have to hear the abuse.

"I know! Don't forget, she is single-handedly tarnishing his reputation! She doesn't deserve his love and isn't worth the trouble honestly."

This gave Kendra pause, this was new.

"Prince Bracken has lost so much respect from the fairies, let alone all creatures of light, ever since it became clear what his intentions with...that thing...were."

"He'll never live up to his mother's expectations without his mind properly intact!"

"You're exactly right, he is insane!"

Kendra couldn't take this anymore and bolted up, quickly rolling her mat up and walking to the door. She didn't fail to notice how the fairies had quickly shut up when they realized she wasn't asleep.

Her mind was reeling. She was tarnishing Bracken's reputation? The kingdom thought he was crazy? All because of her? Kendra felt sick.

She was hurting him.

Pushing the kitchen door open, she sighed and ran her hands through her hair. Warren looked up from the paper he was reading. "That was a quick stretch session, usually you're out there for at least forty minutes."

"Yeah, well."

"Uh oh, fairies talking mad shit again?"

Kendra nodded, grabbing a water bottle from the fridge. "Yup. You know them, can't stand it if I so much as walk outside."

"Maybe you should talk to Bracken about this, that isn't right for them to be straight up abusing you," Warren suggested, voice laced with concern.

This made Kendra freeze for a second before she shook her head, and took a sip of water. "Bracken has enough to worry about. I'll be fine."

Before he could argue, which she could tell he was going to, she fled the room. She walked the stairs and into her own bedroom with her mind in a daze. She rolled the mat back out and lowered herself back into a middle split.

Usually, stretching cleared her mind but at the moment her mind just became more and more filled with questions. Was Bracken aware of how the others viewed him? Was he struggling with it silently? Did his mother really truly approve of her or did he just say that?

Was it right for her to let their relationship progress knowing it would harm him and his reputation?

No, no it wasn't. The thought made Kendra's hear sink and tears spring into her eyes but she ignored them. She couldn't be selfish right now. She had to be strong and do what was right for Bracken. What was the saying?

If you love someone let them go?

Kendra never hated a saying but needed to hear it more.  
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The next time Bracken was at the house was a week later. Kendra hadn't talked with anyone about what she had decided, least alone Bracken. It was the first time ever she had dreaded his visit. She even avoided him for the first few hours of his visit, hiding away in Warren's cabin until he too headed to the main house and she had to walk back with him.

Upon entering the yard, she saw Bracken tossing a football with Seth. Her stomach was in knots and felt like her heart was going to beat right out of her chest. Warren jogged to meet up with the unicorn and gave him a hug. Kendra took the moment he was distracted to walk inside and up to her room.

She knew Bracken would come looking for her, and wanted to have a moment to steel herself for the conversation that would follow. She had to do this. If not for her, for him.

As expected, a few minutes later there was a knock at the door. "There you are."

She looked up from her place on the bed to see Bracken standing in the doorway. He had a slight smile on his face and it hurt Kendra to think that the smile wouldn't be there for long. He crossed into the room and sat across from her on the bed.

"I didn't see you outside, Warren said you were with him?" Kendra just nodded, not being able to find her voice just yet. Bracken's eyebrow's furrowed at her silence. "Are you alright? Do you feel okay?"

"I'm fine."

This didn't soothe Bracken who just looked more worried and tilted his head to the side. "Kendra.."

"I said, I'm fine Bracken," she couldn't crack. She had to keep her guard up. There was no way she would make it through this without breaking if she let him know what she was really feeling. Bracken had a way of getting to her though, something about him made her want to be honest and tell him everything. But she couldn't do that today.

"No, you're not," he stated, reaching for her hand. She jerked it out of his grasp, not missing the hurt that flashed through his eyes before it was replaced with confusion.

"Don't try and get in my head."

"I wasn't…" Bracken looked so lost Kendra felt like breaking down right there. This was for his own good, she had to keep telling herself that. She jumped off the bed and walked over to her vanity, grabbing a hair tie and starting to braid her hair, she needed to do something, to get her eyes off of him and her hands busy. She was too vulnerable sitting there across from him.

"Kendra, please. Talk to me. Tell me what's wrong." she heard him sigh. Kendra didn't answer him, instead focused on braiding her hair, sectioning it off to two separate french braids. Bracken fell silent for a few minutes, letting Kendra finish her hair.

She supposed he thought she needed a moment to collect herself and in a way he was right. But really, she was preparing herself to do one of the hardest things she would have to do. As she tied off the last braid, she felt him approach her. He placed a hand on her shoulder and she shrugged it off, standing again.

"Kendra, come on. Did I do something wrong?"

"No."

"Then what is the matter?" He grabbed her hand and turned her around to face him, she once again slid his hand from hers and this time the hurt stayed in his eyes.

"We can't do this, Bracken." she sighed. "We shouldn't be doing this."

"Doing what, exactly?" he asked, but from the way he looked at her, Kendra knew he knew what she meant.

"Us. It isn't right, we can't keep doing whatever it is we are," she said, looking in his eyes briefly before looking away at the sight of sheer pain in them. He was silent for a moment, taking in what she was saying before he responded.

"Why?" he asked softly. "Please, tell me why at least. Because you said you want to, you said you loved me but are now saying different. Can you please just explain why?"

Kendra wanted to take it all back at the sound of his voice filled with hurt and confusion. But she couldn't, she just couldn't. "Because it isn't right, Bracken! We weren't meant to be together! A human and a unicorn, I mean, what were we thinking?!"

"We were thinking that we love each other and that it doesn't matter that you're human and I'm a unicorn because as long as we were in this we were in this together it didn't matter what others thought. Is...is this about the fairies?" Bracken asked, voice ever patient and calm. She wished he was mad, and screaming at her, but of course, that's not the type of person Bracken was.

"The fairies are just part of it," Kendra admitted not really lying. It wasn't the fairies really, they only brought the issue to her attention. "They think you're crazy, you know?"

"You know I want you, it's not a secret I try to hide. I know you feel the same."

"It's not who we were meant to be, Bracken."

"Not who we were meant to be?" Bracken repeated quietly. " No one else gets to decide that but us. No one gets to decide who I am and what my destiny is but me. And you are my destiny, Kendra. I believe I was meant to find you."

Any other day Kendra would have melted at the words, she still almost did. "No, you were meant to lead. To be the prince everyone expects you to be and you can't do that if you're running around chasing after someone who is below you."

"Below me?!" he gasped, incredulous.

"Yes! Below you, Bracken. Or do you forget my place is as your mother's handmaiden." she threw her hands up in the air and gestured to herself.

"We are equals here, Kendra. Do not put yourself down."

"You are a prince!"

"Of the fairies!"

"And I am fairykind!"

They both stood there for a moment staring at each other. Bracken looked as if he had no idea what was going on in her mind and Kendra just wanted the conversation to be over but she had a feeling they weren't done yet.

"Look, I don't care what or who you are Kendra. I don't care what anyone else thinks, I would be yours the second you say you want me," he said after a moment. Kendra closed her eyes.

"You think it's easy?" she whispered. "You think I don't want to run to you? I do. But there are things we can't do, Bracken."

"Tell me one good reason why. Because of last week? We were happy. You were happy. What changed?" Bracken seemed desperate to understand her, maybe he never would.

"When we are in here, in these walls, we can be happy, yes. We can be free and just be us but the second we step outside? All we get are stares and whispers and I get repeatedly insulted all because you so much as dare to stand by me! It's hopeless!" Kendra exclaimed.

"But-"

"Furthermore," she interrupted. "How can you say you'll be mine? How could I say I want you. It's not my right."

"Kendra!"

"No," she held up a hand to stop his argument, Bracken looked appalled at her words. "I'm not the one you were meant to find, you were stuck in a prison and clung to the first girl you saw that you knew you could trust because I am fairykind."

Bracken's eyebrows shot up and he took a deep breath. "That was such a lie it was almost blasphemy."

Kendra scoffed and shook her head. "It's what you needed to hear."

"Kendra. If you are saying you don't want me...if you don't want this, because you aren't ready or you don't love me then that is one thing. I will let it drop and leave you alone. But if you are doing this for me, then don't. Please don't." Bracken pleaded slowly.

"Your reputation-"

"Was out the window the minute I gave up my third horn," he interrupted. "You think this is the first time I've been called crazy? The first time I apparently lost respect? Of how I'll never live up to my mother's expectations? Please. This isn't because of you, this has happened before and once they get over it they will be your biggest fans. Simple minded creatures, fairies are."

Kendra stared at him, wondering how he knew. She had purposely taken off his first horn so he wouldn't be able to read her mind. "How did you…"

"I've heard the whispers and received the snide comments as well. I'm not naive or ignorant about what is being said about me. About my choices." He gave her a calculating look.

She sighed, unsure. On one hand, this didn't make her feel better at all. He shouldn't throw away his reputation for her. But, yet again, she desperately wanted to be selfish for once in her life. She loved him so much her heart ached, and as she looked into his eyes her determination wavered.

Bracken took a step closer. "Please. Don't do this for something as silly and simple as my reputation. It means little to me. The thoughts and opinions of others, let alone fairies, don't matter to me. You are what matters to me."

"All I want is you," Kendra whispered, finally breaking in her resolve.

"Then I am yours."

She couldn't take it any longer and kissed him.

This wasn't their first kiss, as they had slowly started taking their relationship further more than a year ago after she had turned eighteen. But it was their most passionate kiss to date as the feelings behind it were unhindered and raw and unlike any other kiss they had shared before. But like all their other kisses, her stomach still swooped every time her lips met his.

This had been the first time she had seriously doubted their relationship. Sure, there had been hard moments, but for the first part, she had been solid in her standing with him. It had shaken her to her core to hear she might be harming him, the last thing in the world that she would want to do.

They broke apart, and Bracken pulled her into a hug. "Please, never hesitate to talk to me if the fairies are tearing you apart again. I am not afraid to scold them. They are already long overdue for one."

"I'm sorry."

"Shh, don't apologize. Warren mentioned they were giving you grief anyway, I already knew." Kendra sighed and stepped away, looking up at him she was relieved to see all the pain and confusion in his eyes gone, leaving only love and understanding.

"I should have just talked to you," she insisted. "I just...the last thing I want to do is cause you harm. And when I heard that your choice of being with me was doing just that...I don't know. I froze up inside."

"Understandable. But, please know I have never regretted my decision. Not for one second," he assured her. Kendra smiled softly before taking his hand and nodding to the door.

"Come on, I'm sure the others want to see you. I shouldn't hog you all to myself completely."

He grinned at her. "Why not? That sounds perfectly okay with me."

She laughed lightly, still tugging on his hand and leading him downstairs. They found the others playing a game of 'Clue!' and decided to watch. They sat next to Tanu on the couch, behind Dale, occasionally helping him in the game and giving him pointers on what to do.

Halfway through the game, Kendra caught Warren's eye. He raised an eyebrow and that's when Kendra realized he knew. She didn't know how, but she knew he had known how she had been feeling. She sighed and smiled at him, mouthing a small 'thank you' to which he threw her a wink before turning back to the game.

He must have put two and two together after that day she had overheard the fairies and to today when she had hidden from Bracken. Didn't Bracken say Warren had told him about the fairies? Of course.

Kendra shook her head, smiling. Leave it to Warren to know what was up with her without her even having to say anything. She leaned against Bracken and laughed as Seth cried outrage at Warren guessing the murder, weapon, and room correctly when he had only figured out the murderer.

"I'm not a Knight of the Dawn for nothing, little dude." Warren teased.

"That has nothing to do with this game!" her brother argued. None the less, they set up a new game, this time Kendra and Bracken played as a team with them. After that game, they had played Sorry, Life, and even Candyland before dinner was called and they all filed into the kitchen, hungry after an afternoon of fun and games.

All except her and Warren.

As she helped him pack up the board game she glanced up at him. "So, how did you know?"

"Hm?"

"The whole Bracken and fairies thing. How did you know what I was thinking and feeling?"

Warren looked at her with a small smile on his face. "I take it the unicorn talked some sense into that noggin of yours?"

"Answer the question," Kendra challenged and rolled her eyes. Warren put the game on the shelf and stood.

"Kens, it's practically my job to know you."

"Actually, your job is to make sure I stay physically safe," she pointed out, not being able to resist teasing him. Warren huffed.

"That's my Knights job, smarty pants. I'm talking about my job as your older cousin and self-appointed best friend." He ruffled her hair a bit and laughed when she whined and swatted his hand away.

"You aren't my self-appointed best friend, Warr," she frowned. "You're my best friend point blank."

"Aw, Kens."

He gave her a side hug and started leading her to the kitchen but Kendra stopped them before they completely entered it. "Warren, really. Thank you. I don't know how you know me so well and so exact by literally context clues, but you're the best. I don't know what I would do without you."

"I can secretly read minds, don't tell anyone," he winked. Kendra laughed and shook her head. "But seriously, don't ever listen to those airheads on wings. They are so tiny they are only capable of one emotion and when it comes to you it's jealousy. So please, do me a favor and don't take any shit from them, okay? You don't deserve it."

"I'll do my best," she promised. Warren was right, of course. The fairies will probably always talk bad about her, or at least for the near future. She couldn't let their mean words hurt her and take away her happiness. It wasn't right. Kendra sat down in between Bracken and Seth, listening to them argue about if it would be okay to spray the fairies with bug spray.

Surprisingly, Bracken wasn't completely against it. Only saying no in fear of his mother.

As she ate dinner surrounded by family, Kendra felt so much happier and more at ease than she had this morning. She was glad the conversation with Bracken had turned out the way it had, she honestly couldn't see her life without him now. He was her family, she didn't care what others thought anymore. As Bracken said earlier, they loved each other, and as long as they were in this together, it didn't matter what the fairies thought.

Love was enough for her, and love was enough for Bracken. And that's all they needed to change the world to be theirs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AGAIN! This was written by me! I hope you guys consider giving me love too but to be honest here, I would love it even more if you gave love to ALL the writers that made this fic swap possible! They worked hard and let me achieve my goal in organizing this event and I am so proud of each and every one of them! Thanks for reading! XOXO


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